The Acacia Strain will headline No Way Out this summer. The trek, which kicks off August 13 in Chicago, IL, is presented by All In Merch, MetalSucks and Metal Injection. The tour runs through mid September and will feature support from Within The Ruins (8/21-9/18) Xibalba (8/13-9/1 & 9/6-9/18) Fit For An Autopsy (All Dates) and American Me (8/21-9/18).

No Way Out marks the first official headline tour for the band’s new lineup, which consists of Vincent Bennett (vocals), Kevin Boutot (drums), Jack Strong (bass) and new guitar players, Richie Gomez (ex-Molotov Solution) and Devin Shidaker (ex-Oceano).

The Acacia Strain’s latest LP, “Death is The Only Mortal” (Rise Records) was released to near-unanimous praise last year and peaked at #50 on the Billboard Top 200.

Recently I got a chance to see a band that I adored in my high school days: Finch.

And I got to hear them play What It Is To Burn from front to back. It was just as I expected: absolutely amazing. If you get a chance to see Finch you should take it.

The Almost (a band I haven’t heard anything from in at least 5 years) and The World Is A Beautiful Cat and I Am No Longer Afraid To Meow Place and I Am No Longer Afraid To Die also opened. Honestly I’m not a huge fan of The Almost but they put on a pretty good show. The World Is… (I’m shortening it, sue me) on the other hand finally gained me as a fan. I first saw them probably a year and a half ago in a basement and knew about them beforehand; I just couldn’t get into them. After seeing them at The Fillmore that changed. Sure it took a year and a half and seeing them twice but I finally got into them. Maybe I can do the same thing with Tigers Jaw!

Oh wait.

Digs at Tigers Jaw aside you should check out The World Is… ASAP. Hit the jump for a photo gallery.

Hawthorne Heights and Looney Tunes in West Babylon, NY are pleased to
announce a special acoustic performance and signing of the band’s new album
Zero, which will take place on Saturday, July 13th at the store in West
Babylon. The set time for the acoustic performance is set to be announced
soon.

To gain attendance to the performance and signing, you will need to
pre-order Zero from Looney Tunes. Upon doing so, fans will receive a
wristband to get into the event. You can order online
(www.ltcds.com/hawthorne/) or you can order at the store. If you order
online, there will be a $3 PayPal fee. Please choose INSTORE PICK UP for
your shipping option. ALL orders, regardless of what shipping option you
choose, will be at the store. No orders ship. This means you will need to be
local to Babylon, NY in order to purchase this pre-order and attend this
event. To pick up your pre-ordered copy of Zero and your event wristband,
come to Looney Tunes whenever you order or the day of the event, just please
make sure to bring your ID.

I suppose I should start this review with a bit of disclaimer: before I went to this festival I didn’t really listen to most of the bands on the billet. I mean I listed to a few Diamond Youth songs here and there, I know a handful of I Am The Avalanche songs, I know that one song off Juntura and I think I’ve heard that song about swimming pools by The Front Bottoms. Get ready for a review that is probably going to make some totally weird comparisons between bands.

I can assure you dear reader that this changed after this festival. In fact I’m listening to I Am The Avalanche right now as I typed this review (thanks Spotify!).

But before I delve into the main review which is pulled from the scribblings I made in my little blue notebook between sets I’d lake to take a few words to talk about one of the openers: Diamond Youth. It’s thanks to these Baltimore-based (kinda, more on that later) rockers that I got a photo pass for the festival so they gain they’re own mini write up before the general one. The Meltdown fest marks the third time I’ve seen Diamond Youth and marks the time I finally got into them (I was singing along in the photo pit). When I first saw them I only really knew that they played alt-rock in the style of the 90’s and was made up of members of Trapped Under Ice and Terror (let that one sink in). Being relatively young I didn’t really listen to that much music in the 90’s and in the 00’s I didn’t really listen to 90’s alt rock so they didn’t really inspire me to listen to them that first time.

Fast forward to the iDobi Meltdown Fest. Since I knew that they were going to be my main focus of the evening I figured I’d give them another chance. I played both of the albums front to back and once I heard a song that reminded me a bit of older Jimmy Eat World I knew that I could count myself as a fan of the band. It just took a year and a half and seeing them two times to happen. But it happened. So needless to say when they played I was ready for a good show. Diamond Youth did not dissapoint, it’s like they took everything bad out of the 90’s music scene and left everything good in. 90’s music for a new generation. I had a hard time remembering what band they reminded me of aside from Jimmy Eat World and it wasn’t until they played The Pixies between sets that I knew what band they reminded me of: The Pixies and for one singular reason: the crooning of Justin (if that’s the right word). Dude sure can croon, it sounds great. Being that I know exactly one Pixies song this comparison may be totally off.

To sum it all up: Diamond Youth rocks and you should get into them. Also they’re made of members from Baltimore, Chicago and Richmond. They work hard. Support them.

And now onto the rest of the review. Here’s a hint: I’m going to be using the word Indie a lot and cribbing from the Idobi Meltdown bio page and my hastily scribbled notes.

If you’re a fan of Transit, Defeo or Late Nite Wars you should check out The Weeds. Check out a stream of their songs below (thanks to Property of Zach and check out the rest there). The blend of Joe and Justine’s voices with the upbeat tempo make this an album that you’ll be singing along to for a long time.

Regardless of my views on their albums after From Under The Cork Tree I’m pretty stoked for this. Oh and they’re releasing a new album (called Save Rock and Roll, out in May) plus a North American tour. Dates and a link to the single (presented without comment) are below. You’ll be seeing me at the DC date.